BOSTON (Massachusetts): Two lesbians who led the fight for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts are splitting up two years after they became one of the first gay couples to legally exchange vows.
Julie and Hillary Goodridge, lead plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit that forced Massachusetts to recognize same-sex marriages, have separated but not filed for divorced, Mary Breslauer, a spokeswoman for the couple, told the Boston Globe on Friday.
Breslauer said the two women were focused on trying to do what is best for their 10-year-old daughter, Annie.
Carisa Cunningham, a spokeswoman for the gay rights legal group that represented the Goodridges, said she was saddened by the news.
"We're sad for them and feel that their priority, as it always has been, is their daughter," Cunningham said.
"We respect their desire for privacy right now and we respect everything they've done for the community," she added.
In 2004, Massachusetts became the first US state to permit same-sex marriage after its high court ruled that preventing such unions violated the state constitution.
Same-sex marriage advocates estimate that thousands of gay couples have since tied the knot in the state.